Garden design

Horticulturalist William Robinson was one of the first to promote the idea of a wild garden. His informal cottage style approach became popular, especially with British gardeners who were influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement.

After the spring bloomers' flowers faded, I used to have day lily plants that grew up in my beds to disguise the decaying and unsightly bulb foliage. All that changed once the deer in my neighborhood came by in droves and ate all of the day lily foliage.

What gardens existed around the world in In the 6th-13th centuries?

Caryopteris (Bluebeard) has a winning combination of foliage color and pretty flowers that provide focal points in the fall garden.

Perennial garden plants should bloom sequentially. Plants have bloom times that overlap, hopefully, so there can be a series of different plants in bloom across an entire season.

Choose just a few plants that will need minimum attention, and plant something vigorous around the base of the post to soften it.

If I were to start over, and knowing what I now know, I would start with a plan and a clearer idea of the type of garden I wanted.

It's is a good idea to think about color before you buy a bunch of news plants in springtime.

Shrubs are easy-care and long-lived stalwarts in our landscapes in all seasons of the year.

How do we avoid a messy medley of too many plants creating chaos in the garden? I can tell you from personal experience that it isn’t easy!